Opinion

Editorials

Paul Krugman is has been on vacation. The Nation sneaks in a "double issue"— meaning they're skipping a week. The London Review of books has a "Sad Summer Issue". So we're doing it too. This issue will be up probably until after Labor Day, and I'l just add articles from time to time at my leisure, more or less randomly. More are in the works now, and will be posted in the next few days.

Some of our regular contributors will take time off as they choose, and I'll just be posting contributions from others when I get around to it, without worrying too much about deadlines. (Bob Burnett is on vacation this week.)

For "News", I might provide links to stories in the many worthwhile sites which aspire to report on what's happening in Berkeley. I'll also keep an eye on Bay City News, and will welcome news articles but not search them out.

The Editor's Back Fence

Since in theory I've been taking it easy, I've had time to read what others are up to.

I haven't read Subversives, Seth Rosenfeld's new book about the FBI and Berkeley's student movement in the '60s, but knowing Seth's work and after reading this review in the Wall Street Journal I will.

And also, the September Harper's has a review of some books about Pauline Kael, someone many in Berkeley admired and might even still remember. It doesn't seem to be online yet, but the print version just came to my house.

I am submitting this public comment to request the Zoning Adjustments Board, the Planning Commission, and City Council to review the 2012 upzoning of the 2024 Durant property from R-4 residential zoning to C-DMU commercial mixed use zoning, and to request City Council to downzone 2024 Durant to R-3 residential zoning, as was originally proposed in the Downtown Area Plan (DAP). Policy LU-7.1 of the Downtown Area Plan directed the city to downzone R-4 properties in the southwest downtown area of Berkeley to R-3 residential zoning in order to preserve the residential nature of the neighborhood, and Planning Commission and City Council did the exact opposite by upzoning 2024 Durant from R-4 to C-DMU commercial mixed use zoning.
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Call it class warfare, or call it the politics of resentment. The Romney enablers are using a strategy of division to conquer the Presidency. They are trying to turn hard-working people, who struggle everyday just to get by, against the people who are even less fortunate, by promoting resentment that some are receiving government assistance while others aren't.
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It is unfair, if not outright wicked, to condemn or judge somebody for who they are without ever walking in their shoes. And it is arrogant, if not dishonest, to pretend to understand something that is beyond human comprehension. Sadly, that’s what conservatives have done to the gays in the name of Christianity. They judge the homosexuals and say vile things about them without knowing what it feels like to be attracted to same sex.
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What will it mean to teach today’s students both sides of the “global warming debate?” Will this translate to a politically balanced and scientifically sound education? Well that is the consensus among members of California’s Los Alamitos School Board who now require the District to teach “controversial issues” such as global warming in a balanced way that presents both sides of the issue. Just because two theories surround an issue, however, does not make that issue controversial or mean that both theories deserve balanced attention. In the case of global warming, because theories surrounding the issue are not supported equally by the scientific community, these theories should not be given equal representation in the classroom.
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We live one block from ICELAND and we want to thank each and every one of the volunteers who worked to clean up the filth that had accumulated around it. But this wonderful volunteer action is no substitute for a permanent solution to this abandoned and derelict building.
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